The EU Pay Transparency Directive
The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) had to be written into national law by 7 June 2026. It requires employers to tell applicants the starting pay or pay range for a job, in the job posting or before the interview, and stops them from asking candidates about their pay history.
Job postings show how far employers have to go: most EU postings still don't publish a range, and the share differs several-fold between member states.
Share of job postings that show pay, by country
| Country | Postings | With pay range | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithuania (EU) | 2,107 | 521 | 24.7% |
| Netherlands (EU) | 85,117 | 17,425 | 20.5% |
| United States | 448,457 | 89,387 | 19.9% |
| Canada | 36,606 | 6,314 | 17.3% |
| Ireland (EU) | 11,048 | 1,773 | 16.1% |
| Malta (EU) | 1,304 | 206 | 15.8% |
| Latvia (EU) | 653 | 101 | 15.5% |
| United Kingdom | 94,044 | 13,001 | 13.8% |
| Austria (EU) | 15,337 | 1,886 | 12.3% |
| Luxembourg (EU) | 3,732 | 419 | 11.2% |
| France (EU) | 66,962 | 6,380 | 9.5% |
| Poland (EU) | 16,682 | 1,482 | 8.9% |
| Slovakia (EU) | 1,126 | 99 | 8.8% |
| Belgium (EU) | 27,074 | 2,296 | 8.5% |
| Italy (EU) | 14,065 | 1,111 | 7.9% |
| Germany (EU) | 133,014 | 9,833 | 7.4% |
| New Zealand | 1,948 | 140 | 7.2% |
| Colombia | 2,518 | 148 | 5.9% |
Which professions show pay most often
Pay is published most often for cleaning & security services, warehouse & transport and general management, and least often for customer success & support and retail, hospitality & food.
| Profession | Postings | Share with pay |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning & security services | 4,068 | 19.2% |
| Warehouse & transport | 27,108 | 18.7% |
| General management | 2,841 | 17.7% |
| Product | 13,306 | 17.5% |
| Construction & real estate | 23,516 | 16.6% |
| Legal & compliance | 15,241 | 16.3% |
| Finance & accounting | 58,388 | 16.1% |
| Science & R&D | 16,014 | 15.2% |
| Project & delivery | 33,028 | 15.2% |
| Education | 14,056 | 14.6% |
| HR & people | 27,416 | 14.6% |
| Engineering (non-software) | 88,772 | 14.5% |
| Sales | 106,140 | 14.2% |
| Software engineering | 105,080 | 13.6% |
| Operations & admin | 48,138 | 13.5% |
| Data & AI | 33,809 | 13.2% |
| Marketing | 31,506 | 13.0% |
| Healthcare | 73,489 | 12.3% |
| Design | 9,353 | 12.3% |
| Manufacturing & production | 37,845 | 12.0% |
| Consulting | 15,863 | 11.8% |
| Skilled trades & field service | 71,643 | 11.4% |
| IT & infrastructure | 24,281 | 10.6% |
| Customer success & support | 26,512 | 10.4% |
| Retail, hospitality & food | 39,520 | 5.8% |
Frequently asked questions
›What share of job postings include a salary?
12% across all countries we track: 20% in the United States and 10% in the EU.
›When does the EU Pay Transparency Directive apply?
Member states had to bring it into national law by 7 June 2026. It requires employers to give applicants the pay or pay range for a job before the interview.
›Which EU country publishes salaries most often?
Lithuania: 25% of postings there show a pay range.